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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1974)
THE BATTALION FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1974 Page 7 evin s orner ([«* By KEVIN COFFEY, Sports Editor On March 6, 1959, the Texas Aggies beat the University of Houston 7-4 in the first home baseball game of the season. That game is )f little significance to most people but for Tom Chandler it was a [ream come true. That was Chandler’s first win as a major college baseball coach, iomewhere in the shuffle, the Aggie mentor has added 297 others and eeks that magic No. 300 this Saturday against Arkansas. George Kempen, ’21, talked then athletic director Jim Myers into liring Chandler and Aggieland has been blessed with winning baseball iver since. Only one year has Chandler failed to win more games than he’s ost, 1960, his second season at A&M. After winning the Southwest Conference his first season, every- hing went wrong. “Two kids signed pro contracts and we didn’t recruit anyone to peak of,” said Chandler, thinking back. “Then we lost two pitchers ind several kids to injuries so it made for a strange but long season.” Chandler coached teams have won the SWC title in 1959 and J964and finished in a four way tie in 1966. He ranks among the top 20 n winning percentage among active coaches and in the top 40 of the all ;ime list. Thousands of players have been shaped by Chandler’s coaching but the super stars don’t stand out in his mind. “The boys I remember are the ones with average ability that ixtend themselves and play well beyond their capabilities,” said ’handler. Chandler has an amazing memory for names of minor league jlayers and stories of baseball in the old days. A veteran of minor eague ball in the Pittsburg organization, Chandler has seen many hanges. “I played in a bus league where five hour trips and a quick loubleheader was a way of life,” said Chandler. Today, everything is irst class. Chandler’s distinct whistle ind his ability to hum and make it ound like a trombone rank imong the Aggie mentors other talents. “We had a lot of spare time when 1 played pro ball so we just dnda hummed to each other. I just picked the trombone up along the way.” Both the high and low points of his coaching career have come in Texas’ Clark Field. “We had the conference title wrapped up in 1962,” said Chandler. “All we had to do was )eat Texas and we were winning 9-3 in the seventh. We had two out and two strikes on ’em but they rallied to win 10-9 in 11 innings. We were heart broken in the locker room but I told the team we’d be back in 1964 and win it. Well all those sophomores were seniors when we went back there and won it all before 7,000 teasips. It was great.” Chandler was all conference at Baylor two years. He was captain three years and had a .706 slugging average in 1946. A&M has changed during his tenure and all for the good. “It used to be hard to recruit boys to play here but now A&M is well received everywhere. The girls have helped and everyone respects our academic standards.” As for the future, Chandler dreams of a new baseball facility with fust class bleachers and playing surface. “Someday we’ll get it, I hope it’s soon.” In the mean time, Chandler is just whistling and humming along in the third base coaching box, waving Aggie runners across the plate. J Intramural Results The annual intramural track meet will start at 6:00 p. m. on Monday and continue until Thurs day when the All-University fin als will be held. Classes A and X will hold pre- iminary Track events on Monday while classes B and C will conduct Field events that day. Tuesday |vill see A and X in preliminary Field events and B and C in Track prelims. [.Class championships will be held Wednesday including class G. All meets begin at 6:00 p. m. The Senior Charity Classic bas ketball game has been set for April 2. Tickets are now available in the Intramural Office for a 50 cents donation. Class A Horseshoes Squadron 10 over Squadron 7 Squadron 3 over N-l Squadron 14 over 1-1 D-l over M-l Class B Horseshoes Squadron 7 over 1-1 C-2 over D-l Class C Horseshoes Davis-Gary over Law MACUNAIMA (Jungle Freaks) The reviewer at the University of North Dakota called "MACUNAIMA" a “wild and extraordinary comedy film” by a Brazilian Woody Allen. ARTS FILM SERi^g Presents MID-NITE March 22 University Theatre $1.00 State, UCLA set for showdown Bruins favored to continue NCAA. basketball dominance! GREENSBORO, N. C. — UCLA had the favorite’s role and North Carolina State the confi dence Thursday as the basketball superpowers headed for their pub licized showdown in the NCAA semifinal playoffs. Unawed by UCLA, cocky North Carolina State players predicted there wouldn’t be a replay of last December’s 84-66 thrashing by the Bruins in St. Louis. “We’re 85 per cent better now than we were then ... We were a little bit awed the first time we played UCLA,” said Moe Rivers, one of the North Carolina State cata lysts in Saturday’s semifinal struggle with UCLA at the Greensboro Coliseum. North Carolina State, which will face UCLA in the nightcap of a semifinal doubleheader after Kansas meets Marquette, has won 26 games in a row since the UCLA disaster. On the other hand, the Bruins, winners of seven straight NCAA champion- TAMSCC to hold autocross The Texas A&M Sports Car Club is holding an autocross Saturday for all interested drivers. The event consists of cars taking three timed runs of two laps or more each around a course marked by highway cones. The track will be set up in parking lot 56 across the highway and railroad tracks from Kyle field. Access is by the back road next to the rodeo arena. There will be five classes for all sizes of cars with no size limit. Coordinator Joel Hirsch emphasized that “by no means are entrants limited to sports cars.” A short safety inspection will be conducted. Seat belts are required as are helmets. Helmets are available at the event for loan purposes. The entry fee is $3.50 per driver except club members which may race for $2.50. Registration begins at 11:00 a.m. with practice starting at 11:30 and timed runs starting at 12:30. Trophies will be awarded to winners. ships and nine in the last 10 years, have lost three games since the victory over North Carolina State. Escaping with a cliff-hanging victory over Dayton in the West regionals, UCLA in fact almost didn’t make it into the champion ship round—what laughingly has been referred to in the past as the “UCLA Invitational.” The Bruins have been installed as slight favorites despite their status in the polls — they’re ranked No. 2 behind North Caro lina State. But the point spread will fluctuate daily de pending on an important element —the condition of Wolf pack for ward David Thompson. Victim of a concussion and 15-inch head wound in last week’s Eastern regional finals against Pitt, Thompson’s health has been the most dramatic story leading up to the summit meeting with UCLA. The All-American has been simultaneously described as hot and cold at practice sessions. “His biggest problem right now is that he’s very tired,” says North Carolina State Coach Norm Sloan. “He has had so many friends who’ve wanted to see him he hasn’t been able to rest.” Wearing a bandage on the back of his head, Thompson went through a practice session before a tremendous turnout of 2,500 cheering North Carolina State fans. Two hours before the UCLA- North Carolina State affair at 3 p.m., EDT, Kansas plays Mar quette in a game of less dramatic implications but certainly equal significance. FREE PIZZA! Buy one — get one of the next smaller size with equal number of ingredients — FREE! Inside orders only — no deliveries or carryouts. Coupon must be presented BEFORE order. NEW—STAGE FOR DANCING; IMPORT BEER; SHRIMP PIZZA. If you think Kodak is just pretty pictures, you ought to have your chest examined. 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